This invention relates to an improved baby bottle nipple cover for use with a baby bottle that has a collar, an opening circumscribed by a rim, an exterior surface of revolution adjacent to the rim, a shoulder extending radially outward from the exterior surface of revolution, means for engaging the collar to the exterior surface of revolution, and a nipple with a disk-shaped base that can be sealingly secured to the opening when the base is snugly disposed between the rim and the collar. The improvement comprises a cap that is suitably sized to extend over the nipple, and means for retaining the cap in proximity to the opening while leaving the collar free for sealingly securing the base when the cap is removed from extending over the nipple.
It is used with a baby bottle having an opening and a nipple that is sealingly securable to the opening by a collar. The means for retaining comprises a yoke disposed between the collar and the shoulder. The cap is suitably sized to extend over the nipple, and the means for retaining is independent of tethering said cap to the collar. The means for retaining the cap leaves the collar free to sealingly secure the nipple.
One of the principle objects of the invention is to provide a detachable nipple cover that can be conveniently adapted for most baby bottles. It provides, among other things, a thin ring having a plurality of inwardly directed fins which flex to fit over a variety of baby bottle necks of varying diameter and yet provides for appropriate retention when secured by the baby bottle collar.
The baby bottle nipple cover of the present invention is reusable and can be reattached after removal for feeding. The cap remains reversibly engaged to the bottle. As illustrated in the drawing, the nipple cover of this invention may be used with a variety of baby bottle configurations. The nipple cap is removable. A principal object of the present invention is its adaptability to numerous bottle configurations. It also advantageously adapts to bottles of varying diameter. Moreover, it is easily transferable from one bottle to another, even where those bottles are of different size and/or configuration.
The improved baby bottle nipple cover of this invention comprises a baby bottle cap retainer, with means for retaining the cap proximate to the baby bottle, that is disposed on the neck of the bottle between the base of the threaded neck of the bottle and a nipple collar without interfering with the sealing position of the nipple collar on the bottle neck. Preferably, the means for retaining the cap comprises a thin washer having an outer peripheral edge with a tethering means connecting said outer peripheral edge to the cap. This improved baby bottle nipple cover is preferably used with a baby bottle having an opening and a nipple that is sealingly securable to the opening by a collar.
The improved baby bottle nipple cover of this invention is for use with a baby bottle that has a collar, an opening circumscribed by a rim, an exterior surface of revolution adjacent to the rim, a shoulder extending radially outward from the exterior surface of revolution, means for engaging the collar to the exterior surface of revolution, and a nipple with a disk-shaped base that can be sealingly secured to the opening when the base is snugly disposed between the rim and the collar. The improvement taught by this invention comprises a cap that is suitably sized to extend over the nipple, and means for retaining the cap in proximity to the opening while leaving the collar free for sealingly securing the base when the cap is removed from extending over the nipple. The means for retaining comprises a yoke disposed between the collar and the shoulder.
Alternative technology is available in the form of U.S. Pat. No. 5,725,115 issued to Bosl et.al. in 1998 for a closure cap with tether that is attached to a retainer ring, see references #5 (cap) and #39 (ring) of the drawing. The principal disadvantage of such a device is its one time use. The instant invention operates independent of rupture mechanisms, such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,725,115. The nipple cap of the instant invention has a replaceable, reusable cap.
Another U.S. Pat., No. 5,791,503 was issued to Lyons in 1998 for a nursing bottle with anti-air ingestion valve to prevent excessive air swallowing. This invention also provides a removable and/or replaceable valve and teaches a common bottle with a mouth (opening), a cap and a common nipple with an aperture at the end of the extrusion of milk by the action of the infant, sealably retained nipple and the cap is a disk with a flexible valve member which acts as a one-way partially sealed check valve allowing the liquid to flow in one direction while the infant is in the feeding position.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,815,615 teaches an infant feeding system with a detached nipple cover. This conventional baby bottle system is necessarily transportable to accommodate the needs of the parent to move the baby to different locations. The principal disadvantage of such a device is that its baby bottle cap has no retaining means and thus is easily lost or misplaced once removed for feeding.
Another disadvantage to all of the foregoing devices is that they provide for attachment, if any, only to one bottle or neck configuration.
The citation of the foregoing publications is not an admission that any particular publication constitutes prior art, or that any publication alone or in conjunction with others, renders unpatentable any pending claim of the present application. None of the cited publications is believed to detract from the patentability of the claimed invention.